The family of 26-year old Kevin McGriff has gotten an apology from Detroit Cire Commissioner Eric Jones, but they say that’s not enough. The house he lived in with his father, Kevin Sr., was destroyed by a fire on Monday. Family was going through the house yesterday when an 18-year-old found his body on the kitchen floor.
“She flashed her light to turn and go out and she screamed I think there’s someone in the house,” said Ashley Zayti, a family friend.
The family thought Kevin ran out of the house and was lost. He was schizophrenic, on meds and they thought he was lost. A neighbor who doesn’t want us to identify her witnessed the fire on Monday and says firefighters brought out a dog and cat that died and, “They said all clear. Everybody went through that house as far as they know and as far as I know, everybody thought it was thorough.”
The family called the fire department on Saturday after their shocking discovery and was told there would be a full investigation.
Ashley told 7 Investigator Jim Kiertzner, “They sure seemed to be doing it because they brought in arson dogs on Saturday and the fire occurred on Monday. 5 days after the fire until the family calls and it opens up that? You screwed up.”
Detroit Fire Commissioner Eric Jones released this statement:
"This already has been a terrible tragedy for this family and these events surely compound their pain. Firefighters are required to conduct a full and complete search of every fire scene for any possible victims. We have a full investigation underway to determine what went wrong to prevent this from happening again. My team is reaching out to Mr. McGriff's family to apologize to them personally."
Ashley says an apology does not go far enough. The family wants action, “Someone’s responsible. We want the people who cleared this house on administrative leave.
This isn’t just another fire in Detroit contrary to what they may think. How you sweep a house that fast and miss someone who was dead or who could have possibly been saved.”
Ashley says the family will have others speaking out on Monday and they may open a crowd funding account to cover funeral expenses.
